Attachment fittings



Dec. 27, 1955 R. P. TURNER, JR

ATTACHMENT FITTINGS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 17, 1951 Fig. 5;

INVENTOR ROBERT RTURNER J R.

BY MW, %%/MM ATTORNEY Dec. 27. 1955 R. P. TURNER, JR

ATTACHMENT FITTINGS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 17, 195

INVENTOR ROBERT FITURNER JR.

United States Patent ATTACHMENT FITTINGS Robert P. Turner, Jr., York,Pa., assignor to New York Wire Cloth Company, York, Pa., a corporationof Delaware Application August 17, 1951, Serial No. 242,389

3 Claims. (Cl. 160-327) This invention relates to attachment fittingsand in particular relates to bracket-hanger assemblies for releasablysecuring frameless screens and the like.

It will be understood throughout this specification that thebracket-hanger assemblies which are described below may be employed formany uses in supporting many different types of objects. However, sincethe invention particularly pertains to the hanging of frameless screensthe description will proceed with reference to such screens.

In hanging frameless screens it is desirable that the upper end of thescreen be firmly urged against the window frame to prevent anyappreciable opening which would permit insects to pass through.Moreover, it is particularly desirable that considerable tension beplaced on the screen so that the screen will be flat and moreover willlie firmly against the sides of the window frame blind-stops. Inaddition, it is extremely desirable that the brackets for hanging thescreen be so constructed and arranged that they may be easily installedby persons not particularly skilled in the use of tools. By the use ofthe present invention a frameless screen, as well as many other objects,may be securely retained to meet the foregoing requirements and inaddition, the hanger may be readily disengaged from the bracket whendesired.

Therefore, it is a primary object of this invention to provide improvedmeans for releasably securing frameless window screens or other objects.

It is a further object of the invention to provide improved means forreleasably securingframeless screens or the like in such manner thatforces tending to separate the members involved will not effect arelease, and yet by a simple unhooking movement the members may bereleased.

It is a further object of this invention to provide improved means forreleasably securing frameless' window screens to the tops of windowframes and the like.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved brackethaving a portion for engaging a hanger to prevent bending of the hangerwhen forces are applied to the latter.

Further objects and the entire scope of the invention will becomefurther apparent from the following detailed description and from theappended claims.

The invention may be best understood with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

.Figure 1 shows a side view of a complete screen assembly, partly insection, showing the upper brackethanger assembly as well as a lowerclamping arrangement which may be conveniently employed.

Figure 2 shows a front view of the upper brackethanger assembly.

Figure 3 shows a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 shows a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure '2.

Figure 5 shows an exploded isometric view of the upper hanger andbracket.

Figure 6 shows yet another isometric view of the bracket.

Figure 7 is a view similar to that shown in Figure 4 but showing thescreen and upper hanger bracket assembly in a partially releasedcondition.

The general arrangement of a screen embodying the present invention maybe understood with reference to Figure 1. The screen is designated 10and is stretched between a Window sill 12 and the upper Window framemember 14. The upper bracket-hanger assembly which constitutes thepresent invention is designated generally as 16 and this assembly willbe described in considerable detail below. The lower clamping assemblydesignated generally as 18 does not form any part of the presentinvention and, therefore, will not be described in detail. The assembly18 as here shown is similar to that shown in U. S. Patent 2,405,855,August 13, 1946, to D. I. Rust. It is believed sufiicient here toexplain that the screen 10 is crimped in a transverse channel bar 20which has extending therefrom a clamping arm 22 which rests at its outerend 24 on an upright post 26 extending from a base 28 which is securedto the window sill 12. A bolt 30 extends upwardly from base 28 andthrough a suitable aperture in arm 22 so that a wing nut 32 may beplaced on the bolt 30 to exert a downward force on arm 22. The arm 22will thus tend to pivot about its point of engagement with the post 26to exert a downward force on screen 10. A U-shaped transverse channel 34may be provided in floating relation to the downwardly extending skirt36 of transverse bar 20 to compensate for any irregularities in the sill12.

Having described briefly the lower clamping arrangement 18, attentionwill now be directed to the upper bracket-hanger assembly 16 whichconstitutes the pres ent invention.

. with the blind-stop 46, that is,

Referring now to Figures 2 through 6 as well as Figure 1, the assembly16 comprises a bracket designated generally as 40 and a hangerdesignated generally as 42. The bracket will be described first.

The bracket 40 is comprised of a base portion 44 which is intended to beplaced in contact with the horizontal lower surface 48 of a strip 46,commonly referred to as a blind-stop, which forms part of the uppermember 14 of the window frame. This blind-stop also usually extendsdownwardly at the sides of the window frame. An elongated aperture 50 isprovided in the base portion 44 to permit a screw 52 to extend upwardlyinto the blind-stop 46 to retain the bracket in position.

The bracket 40 is further characterized by provision of a first andnormally front arm member 54 which extends from the base portion 44 atright angles to the latter. The arm 54 has provided therein arectangular aperture 56 for receiving a hanger arm to be describedbelow. By reason of the aperture 56 the arm 54 is characterized by twolegs 58 and 58' joined together at their ends remote from base portion44 by transverse member 60. As will be clear from the drawings, the legs58, 58 and cross member 60 may be integral with base portion 44. Thebracket 40 is further characterized by having the edge of the baseportion 44 between the legs 58 and 58 slightly extended in the plane ofbase portion 44 to form an edge 62. As may be best observed in Figure 4,the edge 62 increases the amount of flat bearing surface between thebracket and the blind-stop 46. The fact that the edge 62 is locatedbeyond the plane of the outer surface of arm 54 also permits theaperture 50 to extend further toward the plane of the arm 54 than wouldotherwise be possible. Yet another use of the edge 62 is to permitaccurate alignment of the bracket edge 62 is easier to align with theouter face of the blind-stop than a curved edge would be.

The bracket 40 is also characterized by provision of a second andnormally rearward arm 64 which extends from the base portion 44 at theedge of the latter opposite the previously mentioned arm 54. The bracketarm 64 extends downwardly substantially parallel to arm 54 except at thelower extremity where it is directed inwardly as at 66 toward the arm54. In the center of the extremity 66 there is provided a cut-awaysection 68 to permit ready access to the screw 52.

Referring now to the hanger 42 this is comprised of a transverse member70 having a downwardly extending hanger arm 72 at one end and adownwardly extending handle 74 at the opposite end. The hanger isriveted or otherwise secured as at 76 to an upper transverse channel bar78 which runs the width of the screen. As is the case with the lowertransverse channel bar 20 the bar 78 is similarly provided with aclamping section 80 for receiving the screen 10.

It will be understood that two or more bracket-hanger assemblies will beemployed as necessary across the width of the screen. The followingdescription is directed to a single unit for convenience.

In the transverse channel bar 78 there is provided a first elongatedrectangular aperture 82 for receiving the hanger arm 72 and anotheraperture 84 for receiving the handle 74. As may be understood fromFigures 3, 4 and 5, the hanger arm 72 and the handle 74 are inclined tolie at an acute angle facing the direction in which the screen will beretained. Since the screen will be flexible this means that the acuteangle is in relation to the direction of force to be applied to thetransverse bar 78.

Since the space which the bracket-hanger assembly can occupy isinvariably limited to the width of the blindstop 46 the lower end 72' ofthe hanger arm 72 is formed to extend downwardly at an angle to themajor portion of the hanger arm. Also, the extension 72 serves toprevent undesired release of the screen under certain circumstances tobe described below. The lower end 74' of the handle 74 is also formed toextend downwardly and in a plane coinciding with that of end 72.

The reason that the bracket-hanger assembly is preferably limited to thewidth of the blind-stop 46 is that any protrusions of the assemblybeyond the stop may interfere with hanging storm sash and the like. Thisis a very significant aspect of the present invention, inasmuch as nosatisfactory similar means has been previously known which does not sointerfere with hanging storm sash and the like after the screen isremoved.

As may be best understood with reference to Figure 4, when the screen isto be hung in the brackets (there will usually be at least two bracketsin each installation) the hanger arm 72. will be inserted through thepreviously described aperture 56 and when downward tension is exerted onthe screen 14), the angle of position of the hanger arm 72 will causethe transverse channel bar 78 to slide downwardly and inwardly until thebar 78 comes to rest as best shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4. In thisposition the bar 78 will rest firmly against the face of blind-stop 48and the screen at the crimping portion 80 may rest against the lower endof arm 54, if desired. It will be apparent that in this position, as thedownward tension on screen .10 may be increased the slope of arm 72 willtend to more firmly engage the transverse bar 78 against the face of theblind-stop in the manner described.

To completely prevent any opening between the transverse bar 78 andblind-stop 46 the rivet 76 may be of the fiat head type and counter-sunkinto bar 78. Then, with edge 62 of bracket 44 aligned with the edge ofstop 46, or further back, bar 78 will be perfectly flush against stop46.

Normally, as may be understood with reference particularly to Figure 4,it would be expected that extreme tension on the screen 10 would causethe hanger arm 72 to bend in a counterclockwise direction as viewed inFigure 4. It is to overcome such tendency to bend and yet permit the useof relatively light weight materials that the second arm 64 is provided.As will be observed in Figure 4, the lower extremity of arm 64 engagesthe arm 72 closely adjacent the point where the arm 72 is formeddownwardly to provide the end 72. Accordingly, the arm 72 is restrainedfrom bending and a secure joint is provided. This arrangement of thesecond arm 64 in cooperation with the position of the arm 72 is a verysignificant feature of the present invention.

Aside from bending, tension on screen 10 will also cause the bar 70 totend to rock counterclockwise as viewed in Figure 4. However, assumingcrimp section 8% does not engage arm 54, such rocking will be preventedby engagement of arm 72 with bracket arm 64.

For use in initially installing the brackets 40, the arm 72 may beprovided with apertures 83 through which a marking instrument may beextended to mark in the blind-stop 46 a suitable point for starting thescrews 52.

When it is desired to clean the glass panes of a window with whichscreen 10 may be associated, it is customary for the person about toclean the window to release the bottom clamping assemblies 18 and thenseat himself on the window sill in the conventional manner with theloosened screen lying over his back. Since there are no side members tothe frameless screen, this position of the screen is not objectionable.However, there may be some tendency for the upper bracket-hangerassembly 16 to assume the solid-line position shown in Figure 7. Thatis, there will be a tendency for the assembly to move upwardly andoutwardly. However, by virtue of the fact that the lower end 72 of arm72 is formed downwardly this extension will engage the cross member ofbracket arm 54 to prevent the screen from becoming completely loosened.This arrangement has proved very effective in practice. If the screenhas an inherent roll therein, as from having been tightly rolled up, theassembly 16 may be cooked in one direction or another relative to theposition shown in Figure 7, but the screen will remain hooked.

To actually remove the screen when desired, as well as to insert thescreen, it is only necessary to grasp the handles 74 and rotate theassembly 16 counterclockwise as viewed in Figure 7 until the assemblyassumes the position shown in chain line in Figure 7. Then, as is clearfrom this figure, the ends 72' of the hanger arms will readily passthrough the bracket apertures 56 and the screen completely released.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that by this invention there isprovided a simple and reliable brackethanger assembly which canwithstand a considerable tension on a screen or like member withoutyielding and yet can be readily released, if desired. Moreover,particularly in the case of window screens, the assembly facilitatescleaning of the window without accidentally releasing the nntensionedscreen.

The foregoing detailed description is given only for the purpose ofillustrating one embodiment of the invention and is not intended tolimit the scope of the invention. On the contrary, the scope of theinvention is to be determined from the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bracket-hanger assembly for releasably securing frameless windowscreening to a window frame including a blind stop and comprising incombination; a hanger attachable to one end of window screening tosupport the same and having an arm extending downwardly and toward thewindow frame when the screen is operatively positioned against the outerface thereof; and a bracket comprising an elongated base portionattachable directly to the horizontal surface of a blind stop of awindow frame and parallel thereto, and a flange-like arm depending fromeach longitudinal edge of said base portion and spaced in a directiontransverse to said edges a distance less than the length of said hangerarm, the normally front arm having an aperture partially defined by alower edge parallel to said base portion and engageable by said hangerarm for support thereby and the lower extremity of the normally rearwardarm being below said lower edge of said aperture in said front arm andpositioned to abut the upper surface of said hanger arm when operativelymounted upon said bracket, thereby preventing the hanger and arm frompivotally moving about said lower edge of said aperture in said bracketin a disconnecting direction.

2. The bracket-hanger assembly set forth in claim 1 furthercharacterized by the lower extremity of said normally rearward arm beingdirected inwardly toward said normally front arm.

3. A bracket-hanger assembly for releasably securing frameless windowscreening to a window frame including a blind stop and comprising incombination; a hanger arm attachable to a slotted channel bar at one endof a tension screen to support the same and having a normally upper endarranged to be attached against the outer surface of said bar and extendthrough a slot in said bar and downwardly from the inner surfacethereof, the lower extremity of said arm being bent downwardly so as tobe substantially vertical in use, thereby serving to prevent accidentaldisconnection of said hanger from a bracket to support the same; and abracket comprising an elongated base portion attachable directly to theblind stop of a window frame and parallel thereto, and a flange-like armdepending from each longitudinal edge of said base portion and spaced ina direction transverse to said edges, the normally front arm having anaperture partially defined by a lower edge parallel to said base portionand engageable by said hanger arm for support thereby and the lowerextremity of the normally rearward arm being below said lower edge ofsaid aperture in said front arm and positioned to abut the upper surfaceof said hanger arm when operatively mounted upon said bracket, therebypre venting the hanger and arm from pivotally moving about said loweredge of said aperture in said bracket in a disconnecting direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,234,810 Segal July 31, 1917 1,263,323 Kaempf Apr. 16, 1918 1,888,127Hearne Nov. 15, 1932 2,234,821 Duby Mar. 11, 1941 2,251,415 ODonnellAug. 5, 1941 2,483,114 Van Schoor et al Sept. 27, 1949 2,506,119 FregearMay 2, 1950 2,605,827 Lang Aug. 5, 1952 2,665,753 Lang Jan. 12, 19542,687,772 Lang Aug. 31, 1954

